this post was submitted on 20 Jan 2025
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188
FTC: Companies Are Using Your Data for Individualized 'Surveillance Pricing' (www.pcmag.com)
submitted 10 hours ago by cm0002@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
34 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Your personal data, including your precise location, browser history, and even your mouse movements, is being used by some companies to show different prices for the same products—a phenomenon the FTC has dubbed "surveillance pricing."

According to a new FTC report, retailers are hiring "intermediary firms" to algorithmically tweak and target their prices. 

"Instead of a price or promotion being a static feature of a product, the same product could have a different price or promotion based on a variety of inputs—including consumer-related data and their behaviors and preferences, the location, time, and channels by which a consumer buys the product," the FTC says.

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[–] 7112@lemmy.world 59 points 8 hours ago (4 children)

Doesn't this open up a clear pathway way to discrimination?

Even AI and data has bias, add that with malicious intent, and what stops a grocer from charging exploited communities higher prices?

[–] LodeMike@lemmy.today 7 points 1 hour ago

Yes but its a computer and computers can't have biases! /s

[–] werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

They don't care if you got black or white skin. They want to syphon your money.

[–] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 31 points 7 hours ago

Look at who's coming into power tomorrow, and who's sucking him off the most. This shit is about to get ten times worse.

[–] Ulrich@feddit.org 25 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (2 children)

Companies like Amazon been doing this for a long time. Yes, it's discriminatory. No one has done anything about it. And they probably won't for at least another 4 years.

[–] CosmicTurtle0@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

4 years

If we're lucky. And even if we have another president and that president is a Democrat and even if that president has a Democrat super majority in the House and Senate, I am not convinced that they will prioritize breaking up monopolies.

[–] sunzu2@thebrainbin.org 4 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Correct, DNC is there to ensure that Democrats never do anything too much to hurt the owner class.

[–] Flocklesscrow@lemm.ee 2 points 1 hour ago

100%

They only take action to punch down any potential actual left-leaning candidates, ensuring no progressive representation ever gathers power stations.

[–] prex@aussie.zone 5 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 8 hours ago) (1 children)

Why 4 years? Edit: oh... Oh no.

[–] bobs_monkey@lemm.ee 5 points 7 hours ago

Buckle up, buckaroos!